Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SYF. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548,180 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 995.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,599,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,448,000 after acquiring an additional 5,088,262 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $182,739,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,588,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,032,000 after acquiring an additional 165,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,496,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,748,000 after acquiring an additional 97,235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.41.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $48.81 on Wednesday. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $52.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial Profile

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.